I took in We Are Still Here the other day; kind of a tough one to review. Without giving away too much of the plot, it started out with very classic storylines, and an interesting take on the typical 'haunted house' movie, but midway through it quickly diverted to something else, and then completely lost its tracks. By the end, the nonsensical plot development left one straining to allow it any more, even with some forgiving logic that you afford horror films. It had so much potential for 'old school horror' that just went to nothing. I really am not sure if this was the intent, or if they just lost it during in production and had to wrap it all up somehow. Essentially at the end it falters completely, and while I respect what I think they were trying to do and build on, ultimately it descends into tired tropes and leaves you disappointed. Some reviewers (particularly those of the 'younger' horror generation) I think might complain about a slow first half, wooden acting, bad lines, etc. - but I think this is actually where it is most effective, in being a throwback to 70s/80s horror, intentionally. It is not about 'sitting through the first hour' at all, to see the gore/killing; that is the best it offers (to me). Where it goes wrong is not leading to anything or providing you a memorable movie experience. It lacks the depth and a strong plot (or any climax), and in doing so squanders the benefit of its built up atmosphere and style. Not a terrible movie, worth giving a go to, but nothing to make it stand out - which is unfortunate, given how it started - and not really something I feel I would revisit. I think the split reviews are from it straddling two camps - but never meeting either effectively. Fans of old horror will find some things to enjoy in it, and fans of quick, mindless, graphic deaths may also get a little bit out of it, but I found it too disjointed overall, and would have developed the movie more.
Been trying to catch up on old horror flicks that I never watched back in the day, but remember seeing them on the shelves of my local video haunts. Checked out April Fool's Day on Amazon, and it's a passable little bit of 80s horror with minimal gore and decent acting. Although it's real legacy is the who's-who cast of 80s stalwarts. There's good ol' Griffin O'neal, the chick from Valley Girl, Amy Steel, Deborah Goodrich AND Clayton Rohner (both from Just One of the Guys), and BIFF!! Watching After Midnight right now. Nice to see Pamela Adlon in an early role. Again, pretty minimal gore and scares, but decent acting from some familiar faces. Also Marg Helgenberger's first film appearance. Made me think of Nightmares (with Emilio Estevez). The story she's in (it's an anthology) has some decent scares. Of course the wraparound story's ending is total bullshit, but what're ya gonna do?
I really like After Midnight, it's silly and super of it's time in all the right ways, and I can always go for an anthology. You are right about Pamela Adlon, always fun seeing her back when. She was on The Facts of Life for one season, so weird.
It was fun! Then I wasted three hours of my life watching TerrorVision (what a weird little slice of 80s horror!) and something silly called The Slashening. The latter, in the right hands, could have actually been decent. The script had some sharp skewering of horror tropes, but the budget, bad acting, and really bad editing completely did it in. BTW, these are all available through Amazon Prime.
I went and saw Knock knock this weekend. I really liked it. Of course Keanu still can't act. ha,ha. It's a remake of Death games from 1976. Weird how many of the reviews don't mention this. I recognized it when i first saw the trailer. Thought it was cool Eli Roth put Colleen camp in it and also her and Sondra Locke were producers.
Watched a couple stinkers on Netflix today. This one has been on a bunch of top ten lists, so I thought I'd finally give it a whirl. I guess I gotta stop reading top ten lists, cuz I just didn't get it. Anyway, the movie was Pontypool, and it has to have the lamest zombie infection concept ever. Not only do you have to suspend disbelief, which I don't mind doing for a good horror flick, but you have to drive it out to the forest and put two in its brain. Followed that up with The Border Lands (aka White Settlers) which is one of those Straw Dog, outsiders must be tortured type of films. Had some decent tension in the first half, but the ending was beyond comprehension. The lead lady was nice to look at, so it wasn't an absolute waste of 80 minutes. Actually, this is the second British Straw Dogsy movie I've watched recently. The other was In Fear, which was decent as well. Instead of a home invasion, all the mayhem takes place in a car. Man, I'm itching for a good horror flick!
I saw Guillermo Del Toro's "Crimson Peak" last night. Is it really a horror movie? Yes in the old-fashioned Gothic Romantic tradition of, say, Mary's Shelly's "Frankenstein," but no in the sense of it being a particularly scary movie. There are ghosts. A huge departure from "Pacific Rim," it doesn't take place in the milieu of the Spanish Civil War, but it's very much of a piece with "The Devil's Backbone" and "Pan's Labyrinth," especially the former (quite literally given some visual and thematic references, although I won't spoil them for you) The art direction is spectacular (of course!) and overall the film "worked" for me. Some in the audience jumped and screamed a few times. Curious to know what others think. It's gotten some tepid reviews but in those cases I think the critics weren't reviewing the film that Del Toro made, they're reviewing what they think a ghost story or horror movie is supposed to based on somewhat small-minded criteria. Worth checking out for sure.
Watched Cub over the weekend. Its definitely worth a watch if you are always in search of a decent horror film like myself. Be prepared for it to fall apart in the final third though. Also watched Nightbreed for the first time. Clive Barker is so hit or miss for me. The movie was fine but it felt more fantasy than horror. Nice to see all those monsters moving across my screen though.
Some things I've watched recently: --Oiginal Halloween. Still rules. --Remake of My Bloody Valentine. Applaud it for it's gore and nudity, but the story was lame. --Remake of Last House on the Left. Not bad for a remake. Good acting all around and less slimy feeling than the original. Plus, no stupid "bumbling cops" slapstick to pull you out of the terror. --The Stranger. Lame vamp movie produced by Eli Roth.
"Tales of Halloween" was a cute little anthology. Not nearly as good as Trick R' Treat, but they do a lot more stories.
Where did you watch this? I want to see it. Ive been watching the It's alive trilogy. Such fun movies.
I haven't watched any Larry Cohen movies in awhile. Need to rectify that. Tales of Halloween, and A Christmas Horror Story are on Amazon, to rent.
Ha! That is so funny, I just watched Island of the Alive again recently too. I fully embrace its self-awareness and cheese. I think people still don't quite get it, which is a shame. And Michael Moriarty delivers in spades.
I did not really like this the first time I saw it. Then a few years later, I decided to give it another chance, and liked it better. Then I watched it again, and loved it. Now its one of those movies that I will always watch when I see it on.
Wow, I completely forgot that Island of the Alive exists! It's Alive and It Lives Again were two of my favorites when I was a wee teenie. God Told Me Too ruled my '80s, too. Oh, and Q! Man, I love Larry Cohen. Still need to have a look at his '90s stuff. The Stuff. Ha!
I hadn't realized it until a few minutes ago, but I've been passively boycotting James Wan since Saw. Am I missing out?
I love Nightbreed, in almost a "so bad it's good" kind of way (although I thought David Cronenberg was great as Decker). The book was much more straight horror. Barker's stuff seems to suffer the fate of being great ideas made into poorly marketed half baked films. Check out "The Lord of Illusions" for another example.
Lord of Illusions and Hellraiser are my favorites of his. I wanted Rawhead Rex and Midnight Meat train to be so much better because I love those stories but they are total shit bombs of movies.
Just watched The Final Girls last night. If you liked Cabin in the Woods, I cannot recommend this movie enough. It's basically Cabin in the Woods 2 focused on slasher films.
